Slovenia have made their choice for Eurovision, and Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl are going to Tel Aviv with their song “Sebi!”

The Slovenian national selection, EMA, has seen some changes and revamps over the years. This year, RTVSLO decided to hold a night show with 10 acts.

In the first round, after all the performers have presented their songs, a three member jury made of Darja Švajger, Lea Sirk and Vladimir Graić decided the top two by giving marks 1 to 5 to every entry. The two songs with the biggest scores proceeded to the second round.

The top two were Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl with “Sebi” & Raiven with “Kaos.”
Both acts preformed their songs again and that meant that it was time to open the lines and decide the winner and the next Slovenian hopeful.

The ultimate winners are Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl; their futuristic ballad “Sebi” topped the televote with 72,89%.

How do #YOU like their song? Tell us in the comments below or on our forum!

There’s always one weekend in the Eurovision calendar that promises to deliver, and that special weekend is upon us – it’s Super Saturday 2019!

And this year, it’s a whopper. No less than eleven selection shows are taking place across Europe to make it the busiest night by far of this year’s selection calendar. Tonight sees the return of a long-absent selection, finals in four countries and a hectic night for Eurovision fans!

So let’s jump into it. What’s in store for us this evening?

CROATIA – Dora Final (20:05 CET)

Dora returns as the Croatian selection method for Eurovision for the first time since Daria Kinzer won in 2011, with a massive sixteen acts taking part in the third and final evening of the competition’s programming this week. A combination of regional juries and televoting will decide the winner of the competition, with juries representing the Croatian regions of Zagreb, Vukovar, Čakovec and Varaždin, Rijeka, Pula, Osijek, Zadar, Knin and Šibenik, Split and Dubrovnik.

The sixteen acts in Dora 2019 are;

Bojan Jambrošić & Danijela Pintarić – Vrijeme predaje

Jelena Bosančić – Tell Me

Kim Verson – Nisam to što žele

Jure Brkljača – Ne postojim kad nisi tu

Beta Sudar – Don’t Give Up

Lea Mijatović – Tebi pripadam

Gelato Sisters – Back to the Swing

Luka Nižetić – Brutalero

Elis Lovrić – All I Really Want

Domenica – Indigo

Roko Blažević – The Dream

Ema Gagro – Redemption

Lidija Bačić – Tek je počelo

Lorena Bućan – Tower of Babylon

Bernarda Bruno – I Believe in True Love

Manntra – In The Shadows

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Croatian forum thread HERE.

ESTONIA – Eesti Laul Final (18:00 CET)

Estonia’s popular selection Eesti Laul draws to a close this evening, with twelve acts taking to the stage in the Saku Suurhall, the venue of the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest in Tallinn. Among the acts are Stefan, returning from performing in Vajé last year, and Tanja and Birgit who represented Estonia in 2014 and 2013 respectively. Sissi, taking part for the first time, is the daughter of Estonia’s 2001 champion Dave Benton, and Victor Crone’s entry includes Stig Rästa in its credits.

The twelve acts are;

Sissi – Strong

Lumevärv ft. Inga – Milline päev

Victor Crone – Storm

Kerli Kivilaan – Cold Love

xtra basic & Emily J – Hold Me Close

Kadiah – Believe

Synne Valtri – I’ll Do It My Way

Stefan – Without You

The Swingers, Tanja & Birgit – High Heels in the Neighbourhood

Uku Suviste – Pretty Little Liar

Inger – Coming Home

Sandra Nurmsalu – Soovide puu

A combination of jury and televoting will decide the Estonian representative for Tel Aviv.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Estonian forum thread HERE.

GEORGIA – Sakartvelos Varsk’vlavi Show 7 (19:00 CET)

Georgian Idol continues this week with just six acts remaining in the competition and the pressure hotting up. They are;

Giorgi Nakashidze

Giorgi Pruidze

Liza Kalandadze

Nini Tsnobiladze

Oto Nemsadze

Tamar Lachkhepiani

At least one more act is expected to be eliminated from the show this weekend, with just two live shows to go until the final on March 2nd.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Georgian forum thread HERE.

HUNGARY – A Dal Semi-Final 2 (19:30 CET)

The last qualification stage of A Dal 2019 will take place tonight with the second semi-final. Nine acts will battle it out for just four places in next weekend’s final, joining Acoustic Planet, Petruska, Bence Vavra and The Middletonz. 2017 participant Joci Pápai will be taking part in tonight’s show, as well as Fatal Error, the band championed by last year’s representatives AWS.

Timi Antal ft. Gergő Demko – Kedves Világ!

Fatal Error – Kulcs

Mocsok 1 Kölykök – Egyszer

Nomad – A remény hídjai

Gergő Oláh – Hozzád bújnék

Joci Pápai – Az én apám

Bogi Nagy – Holnap

Ruby Harlem – Forró

Gergő Szekér – Madár, repülj!

Three acts will immediately qualify thanks to the jury and televote, with the final qualifier making it through based on public votes alone.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Hungarian forum thread HERE.

ICELAND – Söngvakeppnins Semi-Final 2 (20:45 CET)

The second semi-final of Söngvakeppnins in Iceland will be held tonight, with two of the five acts joining Hatari and Hera Björk in the final on March 2nd. A notable returnee is Friðrik Ómar, who performed as one half of Eurobandið in Belgrade in 2008, achieving 14th place.

Elli Grill, Skaði, Glymur – Jeijó, keyrum alla leið

Ívar Daníels – Þú bætir mig

Heiðrún Anna Björnsdóttir – Helgi

Tara Mobee – Betri án þín

Friðrik Ómar – Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað?

A combination of jury and televoting will decide the two qualifiers.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Icelandic forum thread HERE.

LATVIA – Supernova Final (20:25 CET)

Latvia’s selection will culminate tonight with the final of Supernova 2019. The competition has had mixed success so far; two qualifications including a 6th place finish, followed by two non-qualifications including a last-place finish. Which way will Latvia’s pendulum swing this year? We might have a clue after tonight’s show!

The eight acts who have reached the final are;

Markus Riva – You Make Me So Crazy

Edgars Kreilis – Cherry Absinthe

Aivo Oskis – Somebody’s Got My Lover

Double Faced Eels – Fire

Dziļi Violets ft. Kozmens – Tautasdziesma

Laime Pilnīga – Awe

Samanta Tīna – Cutting the Wire

Carousel – That Night

Supernova fans will recognise three names in particular, and one other person; Markus Riva, Edgars Kreilis and Samanta Tīna are perennial Latvian selection entrants, whereas Kozmens is the man behind the popular Riga Beaver character that charmed international audiences through the first few years of Supernova.

A combination of jury and televoting will decide the winner of Supernova 2019 and the Latvian representative for Tel Aviv.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Latvian forum thread HERE.

LITHUANIA – Eurovizijos Atranka Semi-Final 2 (20:30 CET)

Lithuania’s lengthy selection with the similarly lengthy title, „Eurovizijos“ dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka, continues tonight with the second semi-final stage. Four of the acts will be chosen to qualify for next weekend’s final following a combination of jury voting and televoting. Tonight’s twelve acts are;

Šarūnas Mačiūlis – Traukinys

Aldegunda – I Want Your Love

Jurgis DID & Erica Jennings – Sing!

Original Copy – Power of Sounds

Paola Hart – I’ll Be Alright

Antikvariniai Kašpirovskio Dantys – Mažulė

MaNNazz – Blind Bird

Jurijus – Run with the Lions

Soliaris & Foreign Souls – Song of My Life

Živilė Gedvilaitė – Learn from Your Love

Alen Chicco – Your Cure

Monika Marija – Criminal

Yesterday, Monika Marija posted a video on her social media urging fans not to vote for “Criminal”, as she wished to perform in the final with “Light On”.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Lithuanian forum thread HERE.

PORTUGAL – Festival da Canção Semi-Final 1 (22:00 CET)

Portugal will be hoping to bounce back from their last place finish in Lisbon in 2018 and hopefully make it three consecutive finals for the Iberian nation, which would be the first such instance of this happening since 2008-2010. Eight acts will take part in tonight’s first semi-final of Festival da Canção;

Ana Cláudia – Inércia

João Campos – É o que é

Soraia Tavares – O meu sonho

Calema – A dois

Conan Osíris – Telemóveis

Ela Limão – Mais brilhante que mil sóis

Filipe Keil – Hoje

Matay – Perfeito

A combination of jury and televoting will decide which four acts proceed to the final of the contest on March 2nd.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Portuguese forum thread HERE.

SLOVENIA – EMA Final (20:00 CET)

Slovenia’s perennial selection EMA (Evrovizijska Melodija) returns for its sixth consecutive year, albeit this time without a semi-final stage. Instead, ten acts will battle in a straight race for the Slovenian ticket to Tel Aviv, with the two acts with the most votes going head-to-head in the superfinal before a winner is crowned.

The ten acts are;

Kim – Rhythm Back to You

Renata Mohorič – Three Bridges

René – Ne poveš

Fed Horses – Ti ne poznaš konjev

Ula Ložar – Fridays

Lumberjack – Lepotne dna

Okustični – Metulji plešejo

INMATE – Atma

Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl – Sebi

Raiven – Kaos

Most notable names are Raiven, who has previously participated in EMA twice, and Ula Ložar who represented Slovenia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2014.

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Slovenian forum thread HERE.

SWEDEN – Melodifestivalen Semi-Final 3 (20:00 CET)

Melodifestivalen rumbles on as the show heads to Leksand in Dalarna, Central Sweden. Familiar names such as Dolly Style, Jon Henrik Fjällgren and 2005 representative Martin Stenmarck are taking place in this semi-final, with two songs automatically reaching the final and third and fourth heading to andra chansen, as usual.

Tonight’s eight performers are as follows;

The Lovers of Valdaro – Somebody Wants

Dolly Style – Habibi

Martin Stenmarck – Låt skiten brinna

Lina Hedlund – Victorious

Omar – Om om och om igen

Rebecka Karlsson – Who I Am

Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Norrsken

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Swedish forum thread HERE.

UKRAINE – Vidbir Semi-Final 2 (18:00 CET)

Vidbir 2019 continues tonight with the final eight songs to be presented. Among the participants this evening are Kazka, who participated in Vidbir last year with “Dyva” and went on to score one of the biggest hits in Ukraine for 2018 with their track “Plakala”.

Three of tonight’s acts will join Brunettes Shoot Blondes, Maruv and Yuko in next weekend’s final show, as decided by a combination of jury and televote.

The eight acts taking part tonight are;

Ivan Navi – All for the Love

Anna Maria – My Road

Kazka – Apart

Kira Mazur – Dykhaty

Laud – 2 dni

Khayat – Ever

Braii – Maybe

Freedom Jazz – Cupidon

#YOU can follow the show live HERE and discuss the events with fellow Eurovision fans in our Ukrainian forum thread HERE.

Which show will #YOU be watching tonight? Let us know in the comments, on our forum HERE or on social media!

]]>https://escunited.com/tonight-super-saturday-2019/feed/0Slovenia: EMA 2019 participants revealed (Eurovision 2019)https://escunited.com/slovenia-ema-2019-participants-revealed-eurovision-2019/
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 19:20:26 +0000http://escunited.com/?p=35483The Slovenian broadcaster has released the names of the 10 acts that are going to take part in EMA, the Slovenian National selection show.

After Lea Sirk’s successful participation in 2018, which brought Slovenia back to the Grand Final, the people in charge decided to keep the Selection system in place. A total of 103 entries were received which were reviewed by a jury internally and ten songs will proceed to EMA 2019.

The 10 acts are:

Fed Horses

InMate

Kim

Lumberjack

Okustični

Raiven

Renata Mohorič

René

Ula Ložar

Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl

One of the more recognizable in this line-up is Raiven who finished in second place in EMA 2016 with the song “Črno bel”. She then returned the following year with “Zažarim”. Last year, she was co-hosting EMA and is now returning as a singer once again. Ula Lozar was representing Slovenia at Junior Eurovision 2015, the first time the country took part in the kid’s version of the contest.

The songs will be released in due time. Stay tuned for further updates as we don’t have the dates for EMA yet but the show is expected to take place sometime in February.

Slovenia and Ukraine concluded the second round of second semifinal rehearsals yesterday, and just in case #YOU missed their performances, we have included reviews of their rehearsals as well as individual clips here!

SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Even though she dances a lot, her singing sounds really good. She loves the camera and the camera loves her. Judging by some angles, there should be an interaction with the crowd, but we should wait for the semifinal to see if it will work out. A very urban performance overall, and once again the ‘glitch’ part that occurs before the second chorus works really well!

UKRAINE – Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Another amazing performance by Mélovin. You already know about the piano thing but it has been polished, the only new thing is that the stairs are even more on fire and it almost looks like at times that his jacket is gonna get burned. A+ for the vocals and camera shots. Also, there are a LOT of pyro effects have been added to the performance. Ukraine should do very well with this, and could potentially be right up towards the top at least in the semi-final.

What do #YOU think of Slovenia and Ukraine’s rehearsals? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

Have #YOU been busy today? Don’t feel like you have to miss out, as we’ve got you all covered! #YOU can check out the archived live stream and short reviews of the performances below, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for further live streaming and updates from Lisbon!

SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Lea Sirk brings the energy and vibe from her EMA and Amsterdam performances to the Lisbon stage in a big big way with her rehearsal earlier this afternoon! The frame dance from the national selection has gone, but in its place is a much more dynamic staging. The backdrop is all in pink and purple hues much like in Slovenia. However, the real high point of this performance comes before the second chorus, as the arena turns black and a confused Lea Sirk asks for the music to come back, fearing a technical glitch. However, she then gets the song going again by clapping for the audience before the stage bursts back into life once more. I am sure that this moment, similar to Barei’s slip in 2016, will inject a dose of adrenaline into the audience and really lift this performance’s already surging energy!

UKRAINE – Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Ukraine finish the semi-final with a flourish and again there are shades of the original national final performance from Mélovin, with an added twist. The piano on a fire-threatened plinth remains, but Mélovin begins inside the piano, performing the opening bars before being lifted up out of the piano by a mechanical arm. He then moves down to the stage to perform the song in a similar vein to Vidbir. Towards the end of the song he goes back up the stairs to play the piano following the bridge, where the steps catch fire in a similar way to the selection. The backdrop is in red with some white highlights which adds to the gothic dark feel of the performance. It’s a good rehearsal although it appears that there are some technical issues with the flames and the stand, but Mélovin’s great vocal performance is a highlight.

Tune in tomorrow as we bring #YOU updates of the first batch of second-round rehearsals from the arena and Lisbon!

Image credits: Andres Putting/Thomas Hanses (EBU)

What do #YOU think of today’s rehearsals? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media!

Our next country looms on the horizon, but before we can welcome them to our “Expert” Panel, we must first take a look at the reaction to the last. How did #YOU feel about the entry from Australia?

ApEsc (Forum) – “About a month ago I said that Australia and Spain are my favorites, in a kind of draw, and as of now, after the show in Israel, Australia is completely in my first place by a relatively large margin.”

Iker (Forum) – “For me, this is the quintessence of the generic song and I dislike the Australian entry. It’s likely to finish high though.”

Howard A. (Facebook) – “When I first heard that this year’s Australian song was called ‘We Got Love’, I had a good idea of what it would be like. I reckon I got it about 95% right. ;-)”

So some good and bad reviews across the board for the song and this is reflected in the score; Australia’s final tally from the ‘televoters’ is 57 points. We’ll find out how this stacks up later on. Next up, it’s Slovenia!

36. SLOVENIA – Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

9 points

Calvin – “Slovenia are one of a small handful of countries this year who actually use a drop quite well. After the prechorus, the aggressive, loud, powerful cry of “hvala ne, ne!” really stands out; it’s the best part of a very strong entry. Lea is a really compelling performer who brings something fun and agreeable to the song as well; she seems to be enjoying the song a lot, and it comes across to me as a listener. Really strong entry overall.”

8 points

Zack – “Sassy despite its rather barebones structure and backing. I feel like a revamp could have really helped this song go to the next level. Still, Lea is a strong and likable singer. I remember her vividly standing out back in 2014 as backup for Tinkara Kovac. I’m overjoyed to see her get her chance as the lead.”

7 points

Efe – “Hvala YES! I can imagine myself and colleagues (including Matt) dancing crazy in the EuroClub with that song! It looks like Lea doesn’t have as many fans like other favorite countries but she may be lucky in the second semi-final. Fingers crossed for her! Love you Lea, good luck!”

Sean – “This is one of those songs that just really comes to life in a live setting! It’s a really quirky and modern entry from Slovenia which I did not expect. Lea Sirk is clearly a very confident and sassy performer, perfect for the energy of this song. It took a while to grow on me and it’s not going to break records in Lisbon but it’s a welcome addition to the pack for sure!”

Stefan – “It wasn’t one of my favorites, but I knew it had high chances to win. Also I am not digging the lyrics, I was hoping for a translation, since most of the people wouldn’t understand it. Everybody is just into the tune and repeating Hvala, ne. The performance at EMA was just OK, so I am also hoping to see something new in Lisbon. Let’s see how it goes…”

6 points

Matt – “Definitely something I enjoy enough, not hitting the skip button. Now there are several things that bother me about this, the biggest issue I have is that I wish that she’d “sing” more. It feels a bit talky and I get it, that’s intentional. But it kinda rubs me the wrong way. It is fun for what it is though.”

5 points

Christian – “It has been my skip song so far this year but of course gave it a few spins again to review it. This kind of electro dub step has a hard time at ESC just think of Lithuania 2014 “Attention”. I am exited to hear the good arguments of the fans of the song. For me it is just a matter of personal taste but the genre does not appeal to me at all. I love that this song is sung in native tongue and I like that this genre is presented to give a wide appeal in music taste.”

3 points

Connor – “This is a weird entry to me, and I think my biggest issue is that the vocals and the backing track seem to be competing with each other for 3 minutes. Add in the really disappointing chorus, and we’ve got a meh song with picture frames and a bright LED staging. I’m not sure how well Slovenia will do this year, but they won’t pull an Omar and come last. They could surprise me though.”

2 points

David – “This song could’ve been so good, but there is just one point, that ruins is so much for me. Whenever the song builds up more and more, then the beat drops, and that’s where getting completely off. It doesn’t happen only once, but multiple times during the song, and I’m honestly surprised how much it damages the song in my ears. A sweet dance track, that just get’s completely ruined. I’ve tried to like it so much, but I just can’t.”

0 points

Robert – “Flashy lights and noise. This song has a decent 15 seconds in the build up to the chorus, but everything else about it is just so trashy. I have no respect for this entry at all. The singing is hardly anything exceptional, but there’s so little about it that would ever appeal to me. There is a horrific drop in the middle – what’s clever or good about it?! Anyone can pause! Nope, definitely not for me this year.”

A love or hate entry from Slovenia this year then it seems, which results in a final jury score of 54 points! Will this improve much with the televote? We will see tomorrow… but for now here are the current scores!

Now it’s up to #YOU – what are your thoughts on the Slovenian entry this year? Share your short review of the song below in the comments, on our forum HERE or on social media @escunited and we’ll feature the best tomorrow. Also, don’t forget to vote in our poll to help decide the full score for Slovenia!

Tomorrow we move west, as Ireland’s soothing ballad is the next song to face the panel!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
]]>Netherlands: Eurovision in Concert next weekend! Final list presentedhttps://escunited.com/netherlands-eurovision-in-concert-next-weekend-final-list-presented/
Sun, 08 Apr 2018 20:15:58 +0000http://escunited.com/?p=33261

This Saturday, the biggest Eurovision Song Contest pre-party will kick off! It has now been confirmed that 32 participants will be travelling to Amsterdam to meet journalists and press and entertain the fans during the concert!

The concert, which this year will be celebrating its tenth year anniversary, will be held for the first time at the larger AFAS Arena in Amsterdam.

This year’s concert will be hosted by Dutch Eurovision commentator Cornald Maas and Dutch singer
Edsilia Rombley, who represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest both in 1998 and
2007.

The participants who will be in Amsterdam are:

Albania – Eugent Bushpepa

Armenia – Sevak Khanagyan

Australia – Jessica Mauboy

Austria – Cesár Sampson

Belarus – Alekseev

Belgium – Sennek

Bulgaria – Equinox

Czech Republic – Mikolas Josef

Denmark – Rasmussen

Finland – Saara Alto

France – Madame Monsieur

Germany – Michael Schulte

Hungary – AWS

Iceland – Ari Ólafsson

Ireland – Ryan O’Shaughnessy

Israel – Netta

Latvia – Laura Rizzotto

Lithuania – Ieva Zasimauskaitė

(FYR) Macedonia – Eye Cue

Malta – Christabelle

Moldova – DoReDoS

Montenegro – Vanja Radovanović

Netherlands – Waylon

Poland – Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer

San Marino – Jessika ft. Jenifer Brening

Serbia – Sanja Ilić & Balkanika

Slovenia – Lea Sirk

Spain – Alfred & Amaia

Sweden – Benjamin Ingrosso

Switzerland – Zibbz

Ukraine – Mélovin

United Kingdom – SuRie

Sean & myself will be present in Amsterdam to update #YOU with the latest updates and backstage coverage from the concert.

Make sure to like, subscribe and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and #YOU won’t miss a thing – stay tuned!

Eight acts lined up the EMA stage this night. Lea Sirk opened with Hvala, ne, while Nuška Draščked closed the final with Ne zapusti me zdaj.
Out of the eight competing songs, six were performed in Slovene.

Last years representative (and 2005), Omar Naber opened the show with his Eurovision entry On my way and also served as interval act with his new single I still believe in you. Former EMA contestant, who was also one of the hosts, Raiven, performed a medley of her songs.

Amaya (Maja Keuc), the 2011 representative, was also part of the interval act.

Lea Sirk won the maximum votes from 5 out of 6 juries, while BQL won the televote.

Combining the votes, Lea Sirk won EMA 2018, thus she will fly to Lisbon and represent Slovenia this May with her funky song Hvala, ne.
Lea is no stranger to Eurovision stage, as she was a backing vocalist for couple of times already.

What do #YOU think of Lea’s song? Tell us in comments bellow and at our Forum topic here.

Well well well. If you thought that the national selection season for this year could not get any more exciting, then you were very wrong! This week has already produced thrills and spills with two entries, the controversial results in Armenia and the dramatic changes and reveals leading up to next week’s Sanmarinese final, but tonight will really be an exciting rollercoaster ride. As #YOU can see from the title, a whopping five countries will choose their entries for the Lisbon edition, while the final semi-final in Melodifestivalen takes place and the semi-finals kick off in Lithuania.

Want to know more about tonight’s action? Read on and get ready for the Super Saturday to end all Super Saturdays…

THE FINALS

HUNGARY – A Dal 2018

Hungary’s all-male line-up in A Dal could provide a diverse, unique entry for Lisbon this weekend, with the majority of the songs in Hungarian. With a line-up including heavy metal bands and electronic songs, Hungary could be bringing the energy to the contest in 2018! The line-up for tonight’s A Dal final is as follows;

Zsolt Süle – Zöld a május

Gergely Dánielfy – Azt mondtad

Gábor Heincz Biga – Good Vibez

Leander Kills – Nem szól harang

AWS – Viszlát nyár

Viktor Király – Budapest Girl

yesyes – I Let You Run Away

Tamás Horváth – Meggyfa

This week, the juries will help to decide the four songs that make it through to the televoting segment, where the Hungarian public will decide their winner for the competition in May. #YOU can follow all of the live action from Budapest HERE or join the discussion on our forum HERE.

LATVIA – Supernova 2018

Latvia’s national final has grown from a four-song selection in the 2017 final to eight tonight, although this came with a little help from the voting errors in the semi-final stage! Sudden Lights have won the wildcard for the final after it was revealed they topped the Latvian televote in the first semi-final, while Ritvars keeps his place as a pseudo-wildcard after the voting issues in the semi-final. The eight acts fighting to represent Latvia are;

Sudden Lights – Just Fine

Ritvars – Who’s Counting?

MADARA – Esamība

Liene Greifāne – Walk the Talk

Lauris Valters – Lovers Bliss

Edgars Kreilis – Younger Days

Laura Rizzotto – Funny Girl

Markus Riva – This Time

The result will be decided through a combination of jury voting and televoting. All of the action can be found HERE from 20:25 CET while #YOU can discuss the show with other Eurovision fans on our forum HERE. Sean will be in Riga for the show so expect some behind-the-scenes reports to follow!

MOLDOVA – O melodie pentru Europa 2018

After scrapping the semi-final stage of this year’s competition, Moldova has left itself with a marathon of epic proportions in O melodie pentru Europa! The Eastern European country achieved a shock third place finish in Kyiv, and will be hoping for more of the same in 2018! Can any of these entries bring Moldova to the top of the scoreboard once more?

The sixteen acts in O melodie pentru Europa 2018 are;

Tolik – Broken Glass

Lavinia Rusu – Altundeva

Bella Luna – Moments

Anna Timofei – Endlessly

Ilia Sorocean & Dasha DaGro – Minds & Veins

Che-MD – Inima-n stîngă

Constantin Cobîlean – Numai tu

DoReDos – My Lucky Day

Sandy C & Aaron Sibley – Once Upon a Time

Anna Odobescu – Agony

Nicoleta Sava – Esencia del Sur

Doinița Gherman – Dance in Flames

Felicia Dunaf – Alien

Viorela – The Gates of Love

Vera Țurcanu – Black Heart

Ruslan Tsar – Come to Life

A jury of musical professionals and televoting from the Moldovan public will help to decide the Moldovan entrant for 2018. The show can be found from 18:40 CET HERE, while the forum will be buzzing with activity right HERE!

SLOVENIA – EMA 2018

Last week’s semi-final split the participants down to the final eight, with last year’s big favourites BQL still in the mix after ManuElla and Nika Zorjan were eliminated. As is vogue with national selections these days, a professional jury and the Slovenian televote will decide the entry. The eight participation songs are;

Lea Sirk – Hvala, ne!

Indigo – Vesna

Ina Shai – Glow

BQL – Promise

Marina Martensson – Blizu

Lara Kadis – Zdaj sem tu

Proper – Ukraden cvet

Nuška Drašček – Ne zapusti me zdaj

Watch EMA 2018 live from 20:00 CET right HERE, and #YOU can join the discussion with other Eurovision fans HERE on our forum.

UKRAINE – Vidbir 2018

Last year’s host nation returns to the contest as a semi-final participant in 2018, but that won’t dampen Ukrainian spirits. The two-time winners will be hoping to make a name for themselves again in Lisbon with another strong national final line-up, including returning artists Kadnay, Tayanna and Mélovin. The final six in the Ukrainian selection are;

Kadnay – Beat of the Universe

Tayanna – Lelya

The Erised – Heroes

Laud – Waiting

Vilna – Forest Song

Mélovin – Under the Ladder

Ukraine’s national final Vidbir begins at 18:00 CET and #YOU can watch it HERE. Our Ukrainian thread is one of the more popular on our forum so why not take a look HERE?

THE QUALIFIERS

LITHUANIA – Eurovizijos Atranka 2018 – Semi-Final 1

Gabrielius Vagelis – The Distant

GeraiGerai & Silvija Pankūnaitė – More Than You Know

Kotryna Juodzevičiūtė – That Girl

The Roop – Yes, I Do

Godo – Fire Fountain

Greta Zazza – Broken Shadows

Jurgis Brūzga – 4Love

The top three acts as decided by the Lithuanian public and the professional juries will qualify to the final on March 11th, with three more joining next week. #YOU can keep an eye on proceedings in Lithuania live from 20:00 CET HERE, and make sure to discuss the show on our forum HERE!

SWEDEN – Melodifestivalen 2018 – Semi-Final 4

We’ve already made it to the final semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2018 which can only mean one thing; we now have an idea of who might win the competition! All of the songs will be known to the viewing public tonight, but one artist in tonight’s semi-final certainly has Eurovision fans excited…

Emmi Christensson – Icarus

Elias Abbas – Mitt paradis

Felicia Olsson – Break That Chain

Rolandz – Fuldans

Olivia Eliasson – Never Learn

Felix Sandman – Every Single Day

Mariette – For You

If #YOU don’t want to miss any of the excitement from the last Swedish semi, make sure to tune in from 20:00 CET HERE and join the discussion on our forum HERE.

Which show will #YOU be watching this evening? Share your thoughts with us on our forum HERE or join the discussion below and on social media @escunited!

Tonight’s EMA saw sixteen acts perform their songs for the first time, and only eight of them could proceed to the final, which is scheduled for next Saturday. Among the participants, we saw two former Slovenian representatives, Tanja Ribič & ManuElla, as well as a few comebacks from the last year, including KiNG FOO, Ina Shai, BQL, Nika Zorjan, Lea Sirk, Nuška Drašček.

The rules of the seminal stated that all the songs must be sung in Slovenian, but songs can be translated into English for the final.

The top four from the jury votes and the viewers’ four favorites got the chance to perform their songs once again in the final, where the winner and the next representative of the country will be chosen by an equal mix of jury and televote.

You can also check the performances of the competitors who didn’t manage to qualify on the official YouTube channel of EMA.

As now we have heard all the songs and know the eight finalists, tell us who #YOU think will win EMA 2018 and fly to Lisbon under the Slovenian flag. Share your thoughts in comments bellow or at our Forum here.